Rolls-Royce to Triple Its Footprint With $370 Million Investment

Storied British automaker Rolls-Royce plans to more than doubling the size of its manufacturing facility in southern England to accommodate its expanding customization business.

The investment is over three times more than the company spent to build the current West Sussex plant. On the heels of its third-highest sales year in 2024 (its best was in 2023), Rolls-Royce is adding about 448,000 square feet to the Goodwood facility that acts as the headquarters, design, manufacturing and assembly center for the brand. The existing plant measures 242,000 square feet.

“When we started, we were making a car a day. Now we’re making 20 to 25 cars a day. So the current facility is at its capacity, but what we’re not trying to do with this extension is create more capacity for volume,” Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars told Newsweek.

“This is more about space for the projects that we’re seeing growing demand for, so more bespoke and more coach-built motor cars, and these projects need space because they take time. So that’s the fundamental reason why we’re investing in Goodwood. The second reason is also put in place a new paint shop, because the demand that we have for very specialized paint finishes, so that’s really what the investment will deliver for us, he said.

When the Goodwood facility opened on January 1, 2003, it employed about 300 people. Today that number has grown to more than 2,500 people.

Why It Matters

Rolls-Royce hovers between 5,000 and 6,000 sales per year globally but is not positioned chase volume. Brownridge’s predecessor said as much and the current CEO agrees. The company sees itself as a luxury house making scarce bespoke handmade goods.

“What’s encouraging about our performance is the thing that really matters is the quality of the revenue and the cars that we’re producing, and the enrichment of those is growing, and it’s growing faster than it ever has done before in terms of the year-on-year volume. We only produce cars when they are demanded. So if there’s a fluctuation, we’ll fluctuate,” Brownridge said.

Ten years ago, the average MSRP for a Rolls-Royce car was around $350,000; it’s now north of $500,000.

What to Know

The company’s bespoke and Coachbuild programs can add customizations in nearly infinite ways. Besides the more than 44,000 paint colors and expansive interior options the company can change dash panels and accompanying metals, hood ornaments, ceiling adornments and more. Brownridge told Newsweek said one customer even ordered the Starlight Headliner to match the constellations on the day their dog was born and the company obliged.

“That canvas varies depending on the client. There isn’t a particular part of the world that does it one way and a different way in a different part of the world. It’s resonant to that particular client. One client may want something which is very private and personal. One may want something which is more extroverted,” said Brownridge.

1 of 5

What Happens Next

To continue to sell six- and seven-figure vehicles, Rolls-Royce must keep innovating. It needs to listen to demand today, and tomorrow. The brand just opened two more Private Offices, one in New York and another Seoul for a total of five. Those locations are for clients, their dealer advisor, and a dedicated local designer to get creative with a bespoke commission. They also allow the company to look and listen for what’s coming next.

“One, [Private Offices] take our good words out to the to the regions, to the clients that can’t come to us, but also they put ears in the market. And I think that’s very important to us as well. So, we’re acutely aware that to be a luxury brand as well as the maker of the best car in the world, we need to have substance, but we also need to be relevant. But I think we’ve got our eyes and ears in all the right places,” Brownridge said.